Beggars Can Be Choosers
The true owners of America (the top .1 percent) hijacked democracy in America a long time ago. Today's U.S. government is nothing more than a concierge service to the Rich & Powerful. "Our" government no longer really serves the interests of ordinary Americans. It only serves the interests of the top ultra-wealthy elites.
The fact is, real democracy died long ago in America--and guns did nothing to prevent it from happening.
In reality, the oligarchy that controls the real levers of power in America isn't afraid of guns.
You want real freedom? Try a place like Europe, where you'll find loads of freedoms that most Americans don't enjoy. In Europe, you'll find legal dope, legal gay marriage, legal euthanasia, strong workers' rights, 6 weeks annual vacations, the right to join a union without being fired, good public schools, unlimited speed limits on the autobahn, etc. etc.
Some of those things aren't rights. They're just goodies, and I'm sure the people of Europe enjoy them--until it's time to pay up. But we're getting equal marriage here, and if you yearn for marijuana, that's coming as well. The rest we can have when we want it enough.
ReplyDeleteBut until elections are cancelled, we still have the power to throw the bums out. That's the duty of voters, and it is correct to say that too many voters aren't fulfilling their obligations.
"They're just goodies, and I'm sure the people of Europe enjoy them--until it's time to pay up."
DeleteYou mean like the imminent tyranny the good citizens of England live under?
The author listed a lot of things, some of which are social services and some are basic rights. But the fact that people in England are under observation most of the time they go into cities, can be detained without a warrant for extended periods, and are being subjected to a censored Internet all says to me that the country is not as free as you'd like to believe.
DeleteAs a citizen of the USA, you are less free than your English or Australian counterparts. We've discussed this before but your blind jingoism has you repeating the same old bullshit, which coincidentally just happens to be an NRA talking point.
DeleteI'm less free? I may have fewer services, but that's hardly a good case that I have less freedom.
DeleteDid you read the article, Greg. You have an illusion of freedom, nothing more.
DeleteI reserve the right to think about what I read and decide if I agree with it or not.
Delete"The fact is, real democracy died long ago in America--and guns did nothing to prevent it from happening."
ReplyDeleteThat says it all. Guns have not stopped the failure of democracy in America.
Democracy lives or dies day by day. If you give up, it's lost.
DeleteIt's already dead.
DeleteThe very democratic process that protects our republic, has destroyed our liberties, and we the people allowed it to happen.
Don't be a fatalist. Stand up.
DeleteStand up with what? A gun? Who would I shoot for the crime of destroying freedom in America? Votes don't matter when politicians are not reflecting in the laws they pass, their constituents beliefs. The Patriot Act was the latest law taking away our freedoms; should I go shoot the author of the bill, all the legislators who voted for it, or the president (Bush) who signed it into law?
DeleteWill you restrain yourself, please? We have a functioning democratic process here. Use that.
DeleteJust voicing what the extreme gun nuts like you say.
DeleteAttacking strawmen is so much easier for you.
DeleteGreg, you and your friends are the ones who talk about preventing tyranny. What happened? Were you asleep at your post?
DeleteNot a straw man, a real man, YOU.
DeleteMikeb, as I've said to you many times before, defense against tyranny is a small part of why we value gun rights. We still have a working democratic process here. I very much hope that we always have that process.
DeleteWe won't always have that process when criminals like you won't follow that legal process and engage in and support criminal activity.
Delete"In Europe, you'll find legal dope, legal gay marriage, legal euthanasia, strong workers' rights, 6 weeks annual vacations, the right to join a union without being fired, good public schools, unlimited speed limits on the autobahn, etc. etc."
ReplyDeleteI'm going to hope and assume when they use the term "legal euthanasia", they are referring to suicide. If this is being held up as a benchmark of freedom, shouldn't suicides committed here be discounted when referring to the toll caused by firearms? That would come to about a fifty percent reduction in gun violence right off the top.
An Army chaplain once spoke to my soldiers and referred to suicide as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And in most cases, this is true.
You're equating euthanasia and suicide? And your pretending that the typical act of euthanasia in a Dutch clinic is similar to the typical gun suicide in the US? Please tell me you don't really mean that.
DeleteAnd in the same comment you mention that you like the expression that I've often used to describe suicide and why disarming depressed and mentally unstable people would make a huge difference?
ss, you're all over the place with this comment, man.
Euthanasia is often suicide with a doctor's help. But suicide is the right of any adult.
DeleteSuicide is against the law in most States, but I wouldn't expect a criminal like you to know that, or follow the law.
DeleteAnonymous, do you recognize that the law can be unjust?
DeleteSure. I also understand we were given a legal process to eliminate unjust laws by the founders. You just break, or ignore the law, That makes you a criminal.
DeleteUnions helped build the great middle class. A great middle class is what we need again, to get out of this Republican economic depression that started while Bush was president.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about unions.
Delete